Weekend Writing Prompt-CHARLATAN

Published April 13, 2019 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Thank you for the prompt Sammi.

The public school system failed my son. Desperate to help him succeed, I enrolled him in a private school. Although he liked his teachers, too often he locked horns with the principal.

At first I chalked it up to my son’s difficulty with authority figures. Not so. When push came to shove, that charlatan expelled my son for telling the truth.

The boy has grown up to be a man I’m very proud of.

12 April 2019

Published April 10, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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Please be considerate of 70 or more participants and keep your story to 100 words. Thank you.

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

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This Friday, April 12 is my 7th Anniversary as a Fictioneer!!! I posted my very first story 12 April 2012

(I didn’t start as the facilitator and I had a lot to learn about reciprocation.)

Genre: Memoir

Word Count: 100

This man influenced me more than I realized all those years ago.

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, UNCLE CHET

My drama teacher intimidated me. With meerschaum pipe in hand, he commanded center stage.

Etched forever in the cloisters of my memory is the day he offered my partner and me a few pointers on our duet for a drama contest. Mr. Landes dropped to his hands and knees. Tongue hanging, he yipped and sniffed.

It took every ounce of self-control to deliver my lines. “Atta boy, Snoopy, it’s a beautiful day for chasing rabbits.”

After completing the scene, Chet Landes adjusted his ascot and resumed his dignity, then turned to Kent. “That, sir, is how it’s done. Any questions?”

Note: I’ll count this as a comment. I shared the story with the other half of the duet and this was his response: “What a sweet … and hilarious … memory!And you better believe I remember this very moment. Mr. Landes playing Snoopy? Hah! Thanks for sharing, Rochelle. This is very special. Kent.”

A cherished note. He addressed it to Lucy after the character I played in the scene from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Linus and Lucy, still friends after all these years.

Chet Landes Yearbook Picture

Mr. Landes intent on a student.

Kent onstage

SANCTUARY

Published April 7, 2019 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman takes a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia

This ancient cobblestoned city has a complicated history of Persian and Russian rule. Its diverse architecture encompasses Eastern Orthodox churches, ornate art nouveau buildings, and Soviet Modernist structures. Walk around and see what strikes your fancy.

The purpose of this prompt is to inspire you to write 150 words about this place. You can use the Google link to stroll around until you see something that strikes your fancy. When you’re done, remember to link your story to the others using the InLinkz frog below. Reading and commenting is half the fun.

Enjoy yourself and do good work!

CLICK ME! PLEASE!

I considered not participating this week. But as it often happens I found an historical nugget that couldn’t be ignored. Thank Josh for the prompt this week.

The Great Synagogue in Tbilisi, Georgia

SANCTUARY

Aaron prepared his Torah reading for his special day. “Tell me about your Bar Mitzvah, Didi Babua. Wasn’t it during terrible times?”

“No.” Aaron’s great grandfather stroked his thick white beard. “It was a beautiful time—in this very synagogue.”

“But you were thirteen in 1943. What about the camps? What about Hitler?”

“May wheels run over his skull for eternity. Before me, my father read from the holy scroll in this same place in 1905.” Didi Babua’s faded brown eyes brimmed. “His family escaped from Kishinev.” He kissed the cover of his threadbare prayer book. “This has been our safe haven for five generations.”

“Were there never any pogroms?”

“According to our rabbis, anti-Semitism has been unknown here in Tbilisi for twenty-six centuries. Enough questions already. Study hard and make me proud.”

Grinning, the boy read, “Hodu L’adoshem ki tov, give thanks to Adoshem for He is good!”

Weekend Writing Prompt – Silence

Published April 6, 2019 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Thank you, Sammi.

In another world

Beneath the waves

Water speaks to my spirit

In ripples of silence.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK Copyright – Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Weekend Writing Prompt – Anathema

Published March 30, 2019 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Thanks to Sammi Cox for the challenge.

History class was the bane of my high school existence. Anathema.

Who cared what happened fifty years ago?

Fast forward fifty years. Discuss Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, or even adjusting the horizontal on a television with a millennial and watch her eyes glaze.

Now I understand what my teachers tried to say.

Quotation-George-Santayana-Those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-25-87-01

YOU CAN GET ANYTHING YOU WANT

Published March 30, 2019 by rochellewisoff

The purpose of this prompt is to inspire you to write 150 words about this place. You can use the Google photo above or stroll around until you see something that strikes your fancy. When you’re done, remember to link your story to the others using the InLinkz frog below. Reading and commenting is half the fun.

Enjoy yourself and do good work!

Click the Frog to join the Party!

Thanks to Josh and Karen for hosting the challenge.

When I saw the name of the place, I was hooked. I love it when the muse takes it and just runs with it.

Genre: Realistic (?) Fiction

Word Count: 150

YOU CAN GET ANYTHING YOU WANT

After forty-five years Alice still missed Johnny who had been drafted and died in Vietnam, leaving her to raise their twins Phoenix and Sunshine.

Sunshine, a successful lawyer in Manhattan, had children of her own. They, in turn were forging their own careers in Corporate America.

Phoenix had enlisted in the Marine Corps a few years back. After his fateful tour in Afghanistan, he’d taken up residence in Arlington.

“Leaving for Australia,” she texted Sunshine. “Going to open a restaurant.”

“Right. Alice’s Restaurant. Mom, are you smoking weed again?”

“I’m serious.”

“Big case. Call you later.”

***

Pushing a lock of long white hair from her forehead, Alice flipped veggie burgers on the grill in her thriving café. She gazed at the mountains kissing the cerulean sky outside the window. Her town—peaceful Alice Springs—three hours or less from anywhere in Australia and thousands of miles from the Divided States.

Just for fun (if you have 18 minutes to spare) Click Here for the original “Alice’s Restaurant”

29 March 2019

Published March 27, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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As always, please be considerate of your fellow Fictioneers and keep your stories to 100 words. (Title is not included in the word count.) Many thanks.

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT© Sandra Crook

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Genre: Hysterical Faction

Word Count: 100

STORY THREADS

Am I the only one who has found learning the current rules of writing ruins the enjoyment of reading? Suddenly, I find myself editing. Oh dear. I shouldn’t have started that last sentence with ‘suddenly.’ As Mark Twain is credited with saying, “If you see an adverb, kill it.”

What about disembodied body parts? Don’t tell me you’ve never noticed them.

“His eyes traveled about the room.” Can you see them rolling along the walls?

How about, “Her nose ran to the scent”? Disturbing at best.

“The boy’s hand waved vigorously.” All I can say to that one is, “Duck!”

WEEKEND WRITING PROMPT – IMPERVIOUS

Published March 24, 2019 by rochellewisoff

The challenge is simple: each week you will be given an exact number of words you can use to write a poem or piece of prose. You can use any format or style you like; go wherever your inspiration takes you.

Thank you, Sammi

Does the name Kenner ring a bell? If you grew up—or had a child—between 1960 and 2000 it should.

Remember Stretch Armstrong? You could tie him in knots, stomp on him and extend his body from Kansas City to St. Louis. What Kenner advertisers never bothered to tell you was how the impervious super hero didn’t stand a chance against a four-year-old boy and his comrade.

I’m not sure how the indestructible paladin met his Waterloo. I can only tell you what it’s like to scrape ten pounds of gooey innards from the basement floor. R.I.P., Stretch.

22 March 2019

Published March 20, 2019 by rochellewisoff

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The following is the PHOTO PROMPT. Express permission is given for the purpose of Friday Fictioneers only. It is proper etiquette to give credit to the photographer/contributor. Thank you.

Get the Code

CLICK THE FROG TO JOIN THE FUN!

Genre: Historical Fiction circa 1950

Word Count: 100

MOONS AND JUNES AND FERRIS WHEELS

Eighteen-year-old Tammy set the cake on the table. “Seventy-five candles, Grammy.”

Phoebe blew with all her might. “Wish James was here to celebrate with us.” Winded, she leaned back and shut her eyes. “We met in 1893. I was your age.

***

“May I sit here, Miss?”

Phoebe gazed into his startling blue eyes. “Certainly.”

“Think this contraption is safe?”

From their car at the top of the observation wheel, an unheard of 264 feet, she took in the whole fair. Heart pounding, she grasped his hand. He squeezed hers.

***

Tammy squeezed Phoebe’s stiff hand. “Give Gramps a kiss for me.”

For a little more about the Ferris Wheel CLICK HERE

The original Ferris Wheel at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893

Weekend Writing Prompt – EQUINOX

Published March 16, 2019 by rochellewisoff

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise.

Thanks to Sammi for the challenge.

Once more the word prompt has me in touch with my inner Dale. 😉

The package arrived an hour and fifteen minutes before the vernal equinox and eleven days before we expected it. Nonetheless, we were prepared for its imminent appearance.

Monday afternoon, following twenty-four hours of practiced breathing, effleurage and pushing, our second son transformed us into a family of four. Seven pounds, twelve and a half ounces of chubby cuteness, son two was born four years and four days after his older brother.

Spring heralded noisy birthday parties and colorful cakes—our own March Madness.